The company employs over 350 people at its Leeside brewery
14:53, 11 Feb 2026Updated 08:45, 12 Feb 2026
Heineken brewery on Leitrim St
Dutch brewing giant Heineken has announced plans for significant layoffs following a drop in global demand for its products. The company is planning to axe between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs over the next two years, representing about 7% of its workforce.
Heineken employs more than 350 people in Ireland, most of whom are based at the brewery on Leitrim Street in Cork city, where products like Heineken, Birra Moretti, Murphy’s and Beamish are produced. In a statement to RTÉ, the company declined to comment on which facilities in Europe would be affected by the cuts, so it’s not yet known whether any Cork jobs are at risk.
The Leitrim Street brewery dates back to the mid-1800s and is the birthplace of Murphy’s Stout. Sales of the Cork product have skyrocketed in recent years, coinciding with the increased popularity of Guinness. The brewery operated independently for more than a century before being bought out by Heineken in 1983, which revamped the site and expanded operations here in the city centre.
In recent years, Murphy’s has become a mainstay in many pubs across the UK, with the Morning Advertiser reporting last year that sales of the stout had increased by a whopping 632%. At the time, industry insiders also commented that the brand could pose a challenge to Guinness.
Despite the boost in stout sales, overall demand for Heinikens’ other flagship products has dropped, particularly across Europe and North America. It’s understood that cost-of-living pressures and a broad decrease in alcohol consumption among younger generations have contributed towards the drop in demand.
The announcement of significant layoffs comes a month after the resignation of Heineken CEO Dolf van den Brink, who was under pressure from investors to streamline the company’s operations. Heineken representatives say that the job cuts aim to ‘accelerate productivity at scale’ and generate ‘significant savings’ for the company.
Heineken is the world’s second-largest brewer by market capitalisation, with a workforce of over 87,000. While they declined to provide specifics, the company confirmed that the job cuts will affect both white-collar and brewery-based jobs across Europe and other regional markets.
The company has set lower profit expectations for 2026, setting its margin at 2-6% rather than the more ambitious target of 4-8% it followed in 2025. The company finished the last financial year with a profit margin of 4.4%, slightly above market expectations.
Want to see more of the stories you love from CorkBeo? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add us as a preferred source, simply click here